On-line dating services have been in operation for several years. People interested in meeting others have often found conventional online dating to be both rewarding and entertaining. Online dating services have become more and more popular and necessary in this day by the demographic and cultural changes, which make it difficult for likeminded people to meet. Accordingly, it is desirable to have some sort of system and method, which helps people meet each other.
Some conventional systems take advantage of telephone technology to aid in this process. In these systems, which typically involve the placement of personal ads or profiles on publication, a person wishing to meet another person must make a telephone call and listen to a prerecorded message left by another user of the service. A disadvantage of this service is that the user can only listen to messages and there are no visual aids to assist in the process. Furthermore, in most prior telephone systems, when the user has found a person they would like to meet, they are permitted to leave a message with the person they would like to meet. That person can then reply to the message. In reality, these telephone-dating services are little more than voice mail systems with some additional features.
Other systems have sprouted on the World Wide Web (“the Web”). In order to join an existing dating service on the Web, the user simply visits the website where she is prompted to enter personal information such as age, height, weight, hair color, eye color, and build, as well as geographic information, hobbies and other preferences. The user then becomes a member of the dating service, sometimes with a fee, and may receive and send contact information to and from other users of the service.
Unfortunately, because the Web is largely unregulated, as well as the information provided to the on-line dating services, there is no assurance that all the information entered by the user is accurate or reliable. Current Internet services omit large amount of social and legal information, leaving the member compromised with guess work, no personality information, no validity of currency of photo images, no legal identity, and alias information may affect candidate verification. As a result, the user may not really be who or what she claims to be. In addition, it is possible to enroll people with the service, without their knowledge or permission, as a joke for example.
Another disadvantage with current online dating services is that anybody can access the website using another user's password. Regardless of whether or not the user obtained permission to use the first user's password, the other subscribers to the service may be completely unaware that they are not communicating with the person the profile was created to represent.
Yet another disadvantage of current online dating services is that the use of video dating, or viewing others in real-time has resulted in uncontrolled porn social environments. There is very little accountability over offensive content flashed across the screen of an unsuspecting user.
Finally, the current system of viewing video of potential dates is very time consuming and inefficient, possibly taking weeks before a meeting can occur. In such cases, a person is required to go to a designated location and search through videos in order to find a particular person. A simple way of advancing through video to find particular characteristics of a potential date is limited by the technology used; current video dating services use videocassettes as a way of showing a member to another member. This process is time consuming because once a member discovers another whom she is interested in meeting, the dating service sends a postcard or notification to the individual notifying him that another member would like to meet him. He then must go to the same location and view the other member's video profile. If he decides that he would like to meet her, the office sends a postcard to her notifying her. This process could take weeks.
Another disadvantage of current online dating services is that they have not made good use of current technology and the power of the web. Specifically, current services have not effectively made user video profiles available to the other users of the service.
Thus, people realize that there is a need: 1) to assure the integrity of the information and the service; 2) to assure that the information represented by the user is true and accurate; 3) to provide better safety and security to the users of the service; and 4) to use advanced Web video and audio technology to facilitate on-line communication and dating.